Instrument-board clock lock



y 16, 1929- E. c. MILLER ET AL 1,720,740

4i INSTRUMENT BOARD CLOCK LOCK Filed June 27, 1923 ll liIIIIIIHIIIHIIIIII,

Patented July 16, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELBERT C. MILLER AND VICTOR E. SHOWALTER, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

INSTRUMENT-BOARD CLOCK LOCK.

Application filed June 27,

This invention relates in general to instrument mounting means and more particularly to means for mounting an instrument such as a clock or the like on the dash board of airplanes, motor vehicles, or the like.

Timepieces suificiently well constructed to be of dependable utility on motor vehicles, airplanes, and the like are necessarily very expensive and are therefore very likely to be stolen. It has been the common practice to mount these clocks on the dash of the vehicle with screws or bolts and a mechanic or other person can quite easily steal a clock so mounted without attracting any notice.

'It is an object of our invention to provide a. mounting means for such a clock such that the retaining bolts are inaccessible after the assembly of our mounting means.

It is a further object of our invention to provide locking means whereby our mounting means can be locked against removal.

Other objects of our invention will appear in the accompanying specification and claim and will be disclosed in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of our device assembled.

Figure 2 is a similar view with the top or locking section removed.

Figure 3 is an inverted view of the top section.

Figure 4 is a central longitudinal vertical section of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a cross section on line 55 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a similar view on the line 66 of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure base plate.

Referring with greater particularityto the drawings it will be seen that we have provided a mounting means in two sections 1 and 2. The base section 1 is provided with a base plate 3 adapted to be secured to the dash 4 of the vehicle by screws 5. At the lower end and the lower portion of the sides of the base there are secured by soldered rivets 6 a flanged 7 is a central vertical section of the 1923. Serial No. 648,124.

plate 7. 'At the upper end of the base plate 3 a portion of the plate is cut away to provide a recess 8.

Another portion of plate 3 is cut away at 9 to provide a cam shaped stop surface 10 and release slot 10.

The upper section 2 of our mounting means 5 is formed with lateral flanges 11 and 12 provided at their lower extremities with studs 13 and 14 adapted to pass under the upper side portions of the flange plate 7. The upper portion of the section 2 is provided with a flange 15 adapted to fit within the groove 8.

Suitable lock means 16 is provided having a spring pressed plunger 17 adapted to be turned by the lock mechanism from the release slot 10 into contact with the cam surface 5 9 to lock the two sections of the mounting means together. The lock is then turned by a suitable key so that the plunger 17 comes into contact with the cam surface 10. \Vhen thus assembled and locked it will be noted that the two sections are inseparable and that the securing means 5 are absolutely inaccessible. When it is desired to disassemble my device, it is merely necessary to turn the look into such a position that the plunger 17 is in the slot 10 and raise the upper section 2 until flange 15 is released from groove 8 and studs 13 and 14 are brought out from under flanged plate 7.

With a mounting and lock such as we have described it would be necessary for a thief to completely destroy the mounting or to saw the dash itself to steal the instrument.

The two sections of our device are so designed that their two flanged portions con- 5 form very closely to the circumference to the clock and the means usually provided for mounting the clock bear under these flanged portions and against their side walls.

From the foregoing the assembly and oper- 9o ation of our device will be seen. to be as follows: The base section 1 is first secured as described to the dash of the vehicle. The clock is then placed in position and the upper section 2, having its lock turned so that its plunger 17 will enter slot 10 is slipped into position With the portion 15 fitting in the groove 8 and the studs 13 and 14 passing under the upper ends of the flanged plate 7.

We claim:

In a device of the character described, a base plate, means for securing said base plate to the dash of a vehicle, said base plate being provided at its lower portion With a raised flange and at its upper portion with a recess 10 and With a cam slot, and an upper plate provided with an upper flange disposed Within said recess and with locking means adapted to engage a Wall of said cam slot, said upper plate being further provided With a raised flange having studs vadapted to extend under the raised flange of said base plate.

In testimony whereof We afiix our signatures.

ELBERT C. MILLER. VICTOR E. SHOIVALTER. 

